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Larry J. Phelps (1940 - 2013)
Larry Phelps
Larry J. Phelps passed away in his home on April 15, 2013 at the age of 72. Larry was born on June 20, 1940 to Paul and Marvel Phelps. Larry was raised in the Valley Farms area north of Lansing, attended CW Otto Junior High and Lansing Eastern High School, graduating in June 1960.
Larry was preceded in death by his parents, his older brother Paul, his sisters Mary Lou and Dorothea and his brother in law Paul “Dick” West.
Larry is survived by his loving wife Katherine “Kay” West and his children.
Larry always enjoyed working with his hands. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed hunting and fishing.
Larry served in the US Air Force from 1960 until 1968. Larry suffered a back injury working a flight line in Vietnam.
Funeral arrangements were made by Swanson Funeral Homes.
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Susan Green (Steffens)
I went to Valley Farms School with Larry until 6th grade. We both went on the C.W. Otto for junior high and lost touch in the new large school. I will always remember the fun we had at Valley Farms. He was a good friend. My thoughts are with his family.
Susan Green Steffens
David Eskes
Larry Phelps (along with Ike Diehm) was a close friend of mine growing up in Valley Farms. We spent a lot of time together doing what kids from that time did: ice skating on frozen ponds, sledding, hunting pheasants and rabbits, and playing pick-up baseball games on lazy summer days. Larry was a hands-on kid with a liking for tools and engines. He lived for today. Not the abstract for him. His heroes were his dad, a factory worker, and his older brother, an Air Force vet and MSU grad. Sometimes, we'd help Larry's dad on his weekend farm in St. Johns, picking rocks out the field or sawing tree trunks for firewood with a six-foot crosscut. Our reward was RCs and potato chips at a local bar while his dad had a beer. After graduating from Eastern, we went our separate ways, with me winding up in Arizona. The Phelps family, as I knew it, is gone now. But I'm grateful for the memories. They're priceless.
Dave Eskes